Blanking and forming press



Aug. 23; 1938. J. H. KlNDELB'l ERGER 2,

BLANKI NG AND FORMING PRESS Filed Aug. 'r, 1956 v 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 v afar/7e: [1T (wok/beget J. H, KINDELBERGER 2,127,820 BLANKING AND Fonume PRESS Aug. 23,1938,

Filed Aug. '1, 1936 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4@ i) I. a

I pt.

Patented Aug. 23,

UNITED s A Es PATENT 'oFFlcE 'amnxmo AND FORMING raass James H. Kindelberger, Inglewood, Calli'., alsignor to North American Aviation Corporation, Inglewood, Call! a, corporation of Delaware ,7 Application August 7. 1936, Serial No. 94,799

' admins; (Cl. 164-28) This invention relates to a blanking and forming press especially adapted to the blanking and/ or the forming of irregular shapes made from sheet metal. I

It is one of the principal objects of this invention to devise a blanking and a forming press of relatively simple and rugged construction which will operate rapidly and easily to blank out and/or form irregular shapes from sheet aluminum; alloys thereof, or other materials, and in which the male portion of. the blanking and/or forming die is opposed by a resilient member preferably of rubber. y

A further object is to arrange the machine so that the blanking and/or forming \operation' will be progressively performed.

, Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the nature of the same is more fully understood from the following description'and accompanying'drawings wherein is set forth what is now considered to be a preferred embodiment It should be understood, however, that this particular embodiment of the invention is chosen principally for the purpose of exempliflcation and that variations therefrom in details of construction or arrangement of "parts may accordingly be effected and yet remain within the spirit and scope of the invention as-the same is I set forth in the appended claims. Inthe drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates a side elevational view partialiy in section to more clearly show some of the operating details of the machine.

Figure 2 illustrates a plan view of atypical blanking die.

Figure 3 illustrates a sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Figured illustrates a fragments! sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

' iii of appropriate form to support theseveral elements of the machine. As may be observed in Figures 1, 3 and 4 the frame may be provided with a pair of spaced ways ii and 12, preferably grooved to accommodate the antifriction rollers [3 A table I is provided with grooved ways I! and it for engagi rollers ll andlthereby providing an antifri ction reciprocatory mounting for the table. driving the table back and forth. The cylinder atone end maybe directly bolted to the frame while at its opposite end may be provided with a head is having a common form of stuffing box I9 through which the piston rod 20 operates. 10

It will be understood that the piston rod carries upon its inner end a piston forming a fluid seal with the cylindervbore in the usual manner. The

- outer end of piston rod 20 is connected to the table as by .means of a wristpin 2 l' which extends 15 through the enlarged end of. the rod and the bifurcated bracket 22 preferably formed integral with-the table.

The, table is reclprocated by the cylinder by v supplying thereto hydraulic pressure through one 20 or the other of pipes 23 and 24. The valve mechanism for controllingthe supply of pressure fluid to one or the other of said pipes while opening the opposite pipe to atmospheric pressure has not been shown as there are a great many con- 25 trol valvesron the market suitable for this pur- D B- The top surface of table It comprises a work-\ ing surface, that is a surface to which any one or more of a number of blanking dies 25 may be securely mounted as by means of cap screws 26.. A plan view' of one blanking die is shown in Figure 2, wherein the contour of the die is clearly shown. It will be'understood thatdies of other contours may be readlliy substituted for the par- 35 'ticular die shown.

Opposed to the tab le is a pressure roller 21 carrying a resilient member28. The resilient memberma'ybe mounted upon the roller in the manner of a tire, as shown in Figure 6, or belted 40 K therearound, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 5. In these last-figures the resilient member is in the form of an endless belt plying between the roller and an adjustable idler pulley 29. The roller is journaled to the'free end of a cradle 30 (Figures a 1 and 3) as by means of shaft 3|. 'The cradle is pivotally mounted upon the machine framev by means of pivot shaft 32. That pertion of the' cradle which supports the pressure roller is preferably bifurcated toprovide supporting bearings 5 0 33 upon opposite ends of the pressure roller shaft 3|. The idler roller 29 is adjhstably mounted in the cradle, as is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3 wherein the opposite sides of the bifurcated portipn of the'cradleareslotted asst 14 to receive A power cylinder 11 is provided for 5- I properly position the idler pulley with relation to the pressure roller whereby the resilient member 2' may be tensioned to a desired degree. This feature also provides sufilcient slack in the resilient member to facilitate mounting of the roller, pulley and resilient member in the cradle. It is preferable to provide at least the pressure roller with side flanges 38 to limit the deflection of the resilient member during the blanking operation.

Means are provided for controlling the position of the cradle and thereby the position of the resilient member with relation to the top surface of the blanking die to thereby control the shearing action of the resilient member against the cutting edges of the die. This means is preferably in the form of a hydraulic cylinder 40 which at its upper end is pivotally connected to the upper end of the frame as by means of pivot shaft CI. The frame at this point is bifurcated to provide a bearing at each side of the cylinder. A cylinder head 42, having the usual stumng box 48, is bolted to the lower end of the cylinder and a piston rod 44 carrying a'plston within the cylinder, not shown, extends through the stufling box and at its lower end is pivotally connected to the free end of the cradle by the pivot pin 45. Pressure lines 46 and I! connect the opposite ends of the cylinder to a hydraulic control valve, not shown, whereby the position of the cradle may be elevated or lowered to suit the desired operating condition.

In some cases it may be desirable to mechanically drive the pressure roller during the blanking operation. This feature may or may not be made use of and in some instances it may be entirely eliminated. The means for driving.

the pressure roller herein shown includes providing table I! with a rack 46 and from this element driving the roller'through a train of gears. The gear train may include a driving gear 41 journaled upon the cradle pivot shaft 32 which not only meshes with the rack but also with an idler gear 4' Journaled upon the cradle by means of shaft 49. The idler gear in turn meshes with a driven gear I0 fixedly mounted upon the pressure roller shaft II. As the pressure roller is fi edly-mounted upon this same shaft the rotation of the gears will cause a rotation of the roller. It should be noted that the gearing is so arranged and proportioned as to cause the roller and thereby the resilient member to rotate in the same direction and at substantially the same surface speed as the surface of the die to which it is opposed during the movement of the die. 'As- I table.

The machine may be operated in the following manner: With the table retracted as shown.

in Figure l. and a blanking die mounted thereon,

. a sheet of aluminum or other material'may be placed upon the die. Next, by means of cylinder ,40, the resilient member may be raised above the assumes a position similar to that of Figure 5.-

v chine.

In this figure it will be noted that the forward end of the material has been sheared down over the die. The table need not be stopped while bringing the resilient member into shearing relation with the die and as a result the die and surface of the resilient member. will roll in pressure contact, whereby the shearing action will progressively travel from one end of the die to the other. Upon completion of the blanking operation the blanked piece of metal, together with the portion trimmed therefrom, may be removed from the die and another piece of material placed upon the die and during the return stroke of the table the blanking operation repeated.

By providing rollers 5| adjacent each side of' been the practice to use a relatively large powerful, and as a result, slow-acting hydraulic press for this purpose. When using the usual hydraulic press a die is placed upon the press anvil, material to be blanked placed upon the die, a block of rubber placed upon the material, whereupon the rubber block is forced down upon the material by the ram of the press until sufficient pressure has been exerted upon the rubber block to suddenly bring about the complete shearing of the surplus material around the die. By this method the material around the entire contour of the die is severed at the same instant, thus requiring great pressure and as the material gives way more or less suddenly, causing the press to jump in a more or less destructive manner.

Contrasting the hydraulic press method with that of this invention, it is found that a relatively small "amount of pressure is necessary to cause the material 'to' shear at one point or location The rollers 5| may be mounted upon the cradle in the manner shown in Figure 1. These rollers may or may not be used, this depending upon the ,type of work and The machine of this invention may be used as a forming press, that is, instead of shearing the surplus material from the blank'around the die, the die 0, (Figs. 7 and 8) may be of the forming type, that is, the die may have depressions Si or other configurations into which the material under treatment will be forced by the pressure roller as the die with its material is moved thereunder. The machine is capable of many other uses as will be appreciated by those skilled in this art.

Having fully described the invention, it is to be understood that it is not limited to the details herein set forth, but the invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

manner of operating the ma-- I claim:

i. In a progressive pressing device, a frame, a die supporting table reciprocally mounted upon said frame, means for reciprocating the table, a cradle pivotally mounted at one end to said frame, a pressure roller journaled in said cradle in spaced relation to the cradle pivot, an idler roller journaled in the cradle, a resilient pressing member belted around the pressure and idler rollers, a driving rack carried by the table, gear means journaled upon the pivotal center of said cradle mounting and engaging said rack, driving means between said gear and pressure roller, and means for controlling the movement of the free end of the cradle toward or from the table.

2. In a progressive pressing device, a, frame, a die supporting table reciprocally mounted upon said frame, means for reciprocating the table, a cradle pivotaliy mounted at one end to said frame, a pressure roller having a resilient tread journaled in said cradle in spaced relation to the cradle pivot, a driving rack carried by the table, gear means journaled upon the pivotal center of said cradle mounting and meshing with the rack, driving means between said gear and pressure roller, and means for controlling the movement of th; free end of the cradle toward or from the ta le.

JAMES H, mmannom. 

